Sport Management Major Matt Puzio Shines on Co-op with Turner Sports

July 1, 2014

In the Sport Management program, you’ll often hear faculty and staff talk about the value of networking with industry professionals. Opportunely, Matt Puzio, ’15 not only listened to the message, but actively pursued these relationships to land a co-op with Turner Sports in Atlanta.

During his freshmen year, Puzio conducted an interview with an executive at Turner Sports while writing a term paper for his Introduction to Sport Management course. Over the course of the next two years, he stayed in contact with Turner Sports about potential job opportunities that were available. For his third co-op, Puzio applied for a position within the Sponsorship Sales and Brand Activation division. After a rigorous three month interview process with human resource personal and brand managers, he was offered the position.

Puzio credits his experiences at Drexel for assisting him in the process of obtaining this co-op. “All of the members of the sport management faculty have been greatly supportive of my decision to pursue this internship,” said Puzio. “They provided me with invaluable insight, both professional and academic, that has motivated and equipped me with the skills to obtain such an incredible co-op.”

Puzio’s division at Turner Sports is charged with executing sponsorships for the NBA, NBA TV, NASCAR, MLB, NCAA and PGA Tour. For Puzio, his primary responsibilities include gathering sponsorship footage to be used in highlight videos for the ad sales department, compiling sponsorship decks, tracking telecasts and completing S.W.O.T. analyses. “Through various sports marketing and sponsorship courses, I have been able to insightfully jump into projects at Turner,” said Puzio.

As the summer heats up, so does the action at Turner Sports with its NASCAR Sprint Cup season in full swing and the start of their MLB coverage. Puzio plans to learn as much as he can as he sees the hard work that goes on behind the scenes to create a memorable telecast.

For Puzio, his co-op at Turner Sports has been one of many great opportunities that he has seized upon during his time at Drexel. In addition, he completed his first co-op with the Trenton Thunder, the New York Yankees double-a minor league affiliate. He has also assisted Dr. Ellen Staurowsky with research on Title IX issues which resulted in a publication and an opportunity to speak at the 2013 NCAA Scholarly Colloquium. Puzio also is the Director of Events for the Drexel Sport Management Student Union and a contributor for The Sports Complex, a student run blog.